leech1
n.
- a parasitic or predatory annelid worm with suckers at both ends, examples of which were formerly used in medicine for bloodletting.
[Hirudo medicinalis (medicinal leech) and other species, class Hirudinea.]
- a person who extorts profit from or lives off others.
v.
(
leech on/off)
habitually exploit or rely on.
Phrase
- like a leech
very closely or persistently.
Etymology
OE læce, lȳce.
leech3
n.
Sailing the after or leeward edge of a fore-and-aft sail, the leeward edge of a spinnaker, or a vertical edge of a square sail.
Etymology
C15: prob. of Scand. origin and rel. to Swed. lik and Dan. lig.
